31 March 2011 9:40 PM

Ladies and Gentlemen, these are exciting times. Scrum's the word has teamed up with EDF Energy to give away a pair of tickets to the two most exciting fixtures of the upcoming European weekend.

For you Saints out there EDF Energy are giving away a pair of tickets to Northampton v Ulster in the Heineken Cup quarter-final at Milton Keynes stadium on Sunday April 10. One of the hottest tickets in town on a scintillating weekend of rugby.

For the Londoners among you desperate to get to the Friday night quarter-final derby between Harlequins and Wasps in the Amlin Challenge Cup at Twickenham stadium, EDF Energy are also giving away a pair of tickets for the clash under floodlights on April 8.

For your chance to win a pair of tickets to Northampton v Ulster simply answer the incredibly simple following question:

For your chance to win a pair of tickets to Harlequins v Wasps simply answer the following question:

Who won last year's Amlin Challenge Cup?

1 Cardiff

2 Toulon

3 Northampton

Send your answer, along with your name, address and mobile number to luke.benedict@dailymail.co.uk.

Normal Daily Mail rules and conditions apply.

If you’re lucky enough to win tickets to the game, why not warm up for the match by walking or cycling part of the journey to the stadium instead of taking the car? It is greener, gets you fit and could reduce your travel costs.

You can find further advice and ideas to help you save energy and money at www.teamgreenbritain.org.

EDF Energy is part of EDF Group. EDF Group are proud to partner the prestigious Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup, in which the best sides in Europe will battle it out for a place at the final in Cardiff in 2011.

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21 March 2011 6:02 PM

So there we are then. England were the best in Europe, capable of world domination, a new class of kids ready to take on the might of the All Blacks in their own back yard. But that was all last week, before the jolly green giants came along.

England forgot their Weetabix on Saturday morning. Ireland, geed up on Paddy’s day vibes and the resentment of a nation, opted for the black stuff. It wasn’t just a defeat but a proper, old-school, men-versus-boys whipping. The type of afternoon that affects your confidence, stalls your progress, forces you to question your ability, makes you think twice when you put on the red rose.

First of all the credit. Ireland were magnificent. The back row was a trio of vein-pulsating muscle that the entire England XV couldn’t wrestle, the second rows were as dogged and ferocious as we’ve seen in a long time, the fly-half was peerless and the centres untouchable. They played with variety and executed with such precision that England were left panting and chasing. It was a passionate yet clinical Celtic beating.

Now to England. If there’s something to that truism that you learn more from defeat than victory then this was a priceless afternoon for the class of 2011. To think that a side under the monobrowed watch of Martin Johnson would be complacent heading to Dublin is a nonsense, but such an intense kick in the teeth is perhaps welcome 172 days away from a World Cup.

England were predictable and caught flat-footed. The half backs froze and the centres could offer nothing to move the show forward. Ireland rudely pushed at the scrum and England so badly struggle when the set piece platform is swept from underneath their feet. If the side stumbled against Scotland they tripped up against Ireland so spectacularly they hit the moon on the way down.

But.

The side is young and relatively inexperienced. One year ago people were screaming for Johnson to trust in youth, to play with a little more attacking intent, to pick the kids who were starring for their clubs regardless of age and wisdom. One year on and we have a team whose core elements will still be around for the 2015 World Cup. So we cannot complain too much.

This is a team for the future. A team that can play together for five more years before hitting the peak of their powers. There are plenty of question marks, plenty of room for improvements, plenty of room for older heads but the fact they almost won a Grand Slam should be seen as an enormous bonus, no matter how emphatically it was taken away.

At worst England are back to a meritocracy. For too long the most-capped player was handed the shirt, breeding a culture of comfortable mediocrity in the long years after Sir Clive Woodward. At least Johnson has blooded the youngsters and seen what they have to offer. There can now be genuine debate over who should play No 1, 4, 7 or 9 for England because we have seen the options (with a sorry exception over the midfield).

By and large this was a good campaign for England. It proved they still need to bring out the bulldog on occasion and think of something else when Plan A doesn’t work, but there is a foundation to the Twickenham fortress once again. For too long it was built on sand.

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15 March 2011 4:30 PM

Martin Johnson isn't one to change his mind, but here are the midfield options available ...

Wilkinson-Hape

Jonny Wilkinson’s left boot compliments the right-footed Toby Flood at fly-half perfectly. It takes the pressure off the number 10 if he is targeted, like he was against France in the first half. If under pressure Flood can spin the ball wide and Wilkinson can clear the line, even if not under pressure Wilkinson’s left boot could be preferred depending on where England are on the pitch. There can be no denying Wilkinson’s defensive credentials, both as chief co-ordinator and road block, but England would miss a crash ball dynamo in the 12 slot, despite Wilkinson’s play-making prowess.

Hape would benefit from Wilkinson’s running lines and distribution, as well as more space out wide, but the swap would test his footwork. Although he can stop a juggernaut, we’re yet to see if he can stop someone with the guile and step of a player like Brian O’Driscoll. There is more space to mark in the outside centre channel and Hape could be found out in an unfamiliar role – even if his commitment to the cause is unquestionable. This is surely a combination to try at one point before heading to New Zealand. The odd injury in the group stages and this could be Plan A.

Hape-Banahan

A like-for-like swap between captain Mike Tindall and crash-ball-king Matt Banahan. Johnson seems fond of Banahan, if for nothing else but the options the giant wing-cum-centre provides on the bench. Size and stature aside, he is Austin Healey-like in that he can fill any of four positions in the back line. However, this is a stop gap rather than a sincere trial. But for Tindall’s Achilles heel, Johnson was never going to drop his captain for a player of less experience, no matter how much Banahan impressed in training, and no matter the impressions he made on Kelly Brown’s forehead.

A flutter on Flutey?

Riki Flutey on Lions form was England’s best inside centre since Will Greenwood – and many have temporarily worn the 12 shirt. On his day he is both an impact runner and a playmaker, a Wilkinson-Hape hybrid and perhaps a perfect compromise for this England team. He needs to stay injury-free and mount a monumental climax to the Premiership season to earn a recall for the summer friendlies. On current form he’d do well to catch the plane.

Creative crisis?

Has there been too much emphasis on England’s lack of creativity in the midfield? The Hape-Tindall axis is there to do a job – and it does it very well. Defensively they are peerless even if predictable with the ball. The argument is that the brick walls in the centre nullify the side’s greatest asset – the attacking prowess of the back three – but Foden, Cueto and Ashton love to cut inside hunting for short balls anyway. Every side has a weakness and if this centre partnership is the biggest problem then this England side could be some team.

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08 March 2011 11:37 AM

Martin Johnson is a lifelong Liverpool fan and a disciple of Kenny Dalglish in more ways than one. Deliberately and carefully, Johnson has taken the emphasis off the individual and focused on the squad as a single unit. It is from page one of King Kenny’s Guide to Management; nobody and nothing and is more important than team England 2011.

Paul Doran-Jones knows that. He is one of those players who provide the midweek back-up that is long forgotten come Saturday afternoon. He lives and trains with the team Sunday to Thursday, then leaves Pennyhill Park by the back door to join his club Gloucester for the weekend.

While the leading cast lap up the plaudits of a Grand Slam quest, the understudies who coexist with the team during the week gain little credit from the masses. But number 23 – 30 in this squad are more than just mobile tackling pads, they are the foundation of the elite squad and fundamental to any match-day success.

‘Obviously it’s frustrating because you want to play on the weekend,’ he admits, ‘but that’s what we here for. There’s been a massive emphasis within the squad to keep everybody involved, training and working hard. The coaches have always talked about the quality of the squad as a whole. The sessions that we do together early in the week are the heavy sessions that involve all the boys and the coaches mix it up.

‘You need to take in new information, new calls and lineout moves. It’s a case of integrating yourself into it. Then after Tuesday it begins to focus on to the 15 players that are going to start. But before that it’s more general work we’re doing, making sure we’re all up to speed with set pieces and play patterns. You do feel part of it. I’m improving as a player week on week, while I may not have been on the pitch on Saturday afternoon I feel I’ve contributed to the squad as much as possible.’

A key part of his integration has been best friend James Haskell. It can’t harm your Pennyhill welcome when you’re best friend is not only a stand-out performer of England’s Six Nations thus far, but a key jester in the pack. Doran-Jones and the ‘Haskellhoff’ are the Batman and Robin of English rugby and – for the moment at least – the prop is happy to play the role of trusty sidekick.

‘It’s great to turn up every week and have your best mate there. It makes it a lot easier, we room together and we’re thick as thieves so it’s great fun for us. We work hard and he helps me out, especially early on, make sure you do this but don’t do that, giving me the inside track. That’s helped massively having someone you can talk to about anything. And I think it’s the same vice versa.

‘Playing in Paris in a top back row, he’s found himself across the back three and that’s really given him confidence and versatility. He’s been phenomenal and consistent so he’s in a great place. He’s enjoying his club rugby and that’s transferring. You can imagine he’s a larger than life character so he’s strolling around and being loud; you can hear him before you can see him. You’ve got to keep a lid on that around Pennyhill Park.’

He is very modest when quizzed over Alex Corbisiero’s fiery baptism and the return of Matt Stevens – a legitimate World Cup threat given he can play both sides of the scrum – but he is also hungry for that Test shirt. Haskell has an unfair reputation as a fame-hungry playboy but the lesser-known side of the ‘Brand’ is his role as wise older brother, helping Doran-Jones’ transition from club player to international prop.

‘I wouldn’t plan on doing anything wrong but you know what these things are like and he gives me advice. You think you’re doing the right thing and suddenly you’re in a whole load of trouble. On the summer tour we ended up on a boat trip with a mate working in Sydney and suddenly it was on the news and we were in all sorts of trouble. It was harmless and we didn’t think we’d get into trouble, I suppose I was quite naïve and you need to get wise. It’s quite a sharp introduction.’

Having learned his lesson, he also knows he can be called upon at any moment, just like Corbisiero before him. ‘A couple of injuries and you’re careering down the M4 to Pennyhill Park and getting ready for the weekend which is why it’s so important to do your homework when you are into those Sunday, Monday, Tuesday sessions, as well as the video analysis and getting to know the boys to feel a part of the squad.’

Sir Ian McGeechan maintains the greatest ever British Lion is Jason Leonard. Not for any particular performance on the pitch, or even one stand-out tour, but for the way he understood and embodied the Lions mentality more than any Lion before or since. For McGeechan, and for Leonard, the British Lions are about the jersey, not the 15 who make the team sheet.

You get the impression Martin Johnson’s England squad are beginning to understand what Geech was on about.

Paul Doran-Jones is representing the England team on behalf of QBE, the Official Insurance Partner of England Rugby. For more information, visit www.qberugby.com.